Mr Swan has made $43 billion dollars in savings, while still delivering the two key Labor legacies - the national disability insurance scheme, Disability Care and the national school reforms.

Disability Care will get $14.3 billion over the next seven years, and there's confirmation of the previously announced increase to the Medicare Levy from July 2014.

Key numbers

2012-13

$19.4 billion deficit

2013-14

$18 billion deficit forecast

2014-15

$10.9 billion deficit forecast

2015-16

$800 million surplus forecast

2016-17

$6.6 billion surplus forecast

There's $9.8 billion in funding over six years for the school reforms, some from previously announced savings in the higher education budget.

There is also $3 billion in funding for roads, rail and ports.

Wayne Swan says the big ticket reforms are long term and historic.

"It's a huge change for Australia - we know from the Asian Century White Paper and other reports that we're falling behind when it comes to the education race," he said.

"That's not just a matter of social outcomes - that's a matter of economics."

Aid delays

The detail of the additional delay to reaching the foreign aid spending target was released on Monday to soften the blow.

The target date to reach 0.5 per cent of gross national income has been delayed by a year to 2017-18, a measure that is expected to save $1.9 billion over the forward estimates.

$750 million in aid is now being diverted to pay for onshore asylum seekers costs.

Professor Stephen Howes from the Australian National University says aid money is still increasing, but not by as much as promised, which he says is the best outcome in the current economic environment.

"It is big win for the aid program because it is a 10 per cent increase, or half-a-billion dollars," he said.

"That's a big increase in a tough fiscal environment."

But Professor Howes is concerned about the longer term picture.

"The aid program has some serious problems because there's so much uncertainty about future targets," he said.

"Clearly that .5 target is no longer credible, because it's been delayed twice and the opposition has refused to give it a date.

"So it's very hard to plan an aid program if you don't know what your funding is going to be in the next few years."

Aid groups remain disappointed about the delays and diversion to foreign aid.

Marc Purcell, from the Australian Council for International Development, says the two years of savings is too much.

"Over the forward estimates, two years in a row there's a total of $4.8 billion has been taken from the Australian aid program," he said.

"Additionally, the government said that $375 million was going to be taken for domestic costs for asylum-seekers in Australia - this is money that would never reach poor people overseas.

"Over the forward estimates [it's] a billion dollars worth of aid that will never reach poor people overseas, it's actually going to be spent inside Australia."